Summary

Where does the AI agent end and the human seller begin? In this episode of Growth Wizards, host Tanner Green sits down with Brian Krause, Chief Revenue Officer at Aware, Inc. (NASDAQ: AWRE), who has spent more than a decade selling biometric and digital identity technology at Incode, Veriff, and AnyVision. Brian makes the case that the top of the funnel runs on the two assets AI is built to increase, information and time, while enterprise deals deeper in the funnel stay a people business. He breaks down what it takes to sell regulated technology far beyond the business unit, why nobody should ever sell alone, and the problem his industry created by winning: biometric sprawl, where business units buy their own biometrics with no central oversight. He also shares why proof of concepts are vanishing from enterprise deals and how Aware's new platform gives CIOs a single API and a bird's eye view. This conversation is for revenue leaders, founders, and go to market teams deciding where AI actually belongs in their funnel.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and Brian's background in biometrics

01:45 A $25 million bet on go to market agents

03:15 Why sales is still a people business

06:00 Information and time, the two assets AI increases

06:45 How Incode doubled North America ARR

09:15 Selling beyond the business unit in regulated markets

12:15 Global coverage, sales cycles, and the death of the POC

14:30 Automate first, hire second

16:15 Biometric sprawl and Aware's new platform

18:45 Where to connect with Brian

Takeaways

AI's natural home is the top of the funnel, where information and time are the two greatest assets and velocity wins; deeper in the funnel, enterprise sales stays a people business.

In regulated industries the sale goes far beyond the business unit: the full lifecycle of biometric data pulls compliance, regulatory, and security into every purchase decision.

Nobody ever buys alone, so nobody should ever sell alone; leaders who stay in the trenches and earn their team's trust can supercharge growth.

Biometric sprawl is the industry's unsolved problem: business units buying their own biometrics leave no central oversight, and upwards of 95% of CIOs want it solved.

Proof of concepts are disappearing as biometrics become pervasive, so deals now turn on proof of value and technical fit, with cycles at five to six months and improving.

Connect with the Guest

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krause-brian/?skipRedirect=true

Website: https://www.aware.com

Sponsor

Summary

On this episode of Growth Wizards, host Tanner Green sits down with Michael Hvisdos, founder and managing partner of BETR Inc. and BETR Solutions, a global sales transformation firm. They start with a striking statistic, that 95% of B2B teams use AI while only 39% see results, and Michael explains why the gap comes down to chasing efficiency instead of effectiveness. From there the conversation moves into the idea BETR was built on, that strategy isn't the problem, behavior is, and why methodologies like Challenger, MEDDIC, and Sandler get adopted but rarely stick. Michael breaks down what a real methodology requires, how to spot buyer movement instead of busy work, and why people fall to the level of their training under pressure. It's a practical episode for revenue leaders, sellers, and go to market teams who want change that actually holds.

Chapters

00:45 Welcome and Michael's background

03:15 The AI adoption gap, 95% use it and 39% see results

04:45 Why efficiency became the wrong obsession

08:15 Writing outreach the customer actually reads

10:45 The origin of BETR, behavior over strategy

12:45 Why sales methodologies rarely stick

14:45 The fishing analogy and what a real methodology needs

16:45 Chasing buyer movement instead of activity

18:45 Why people fall to the level of their training

21:45 The future of go to market and making deposits

Takeaways

-Ninety five percent of B2B teams use AI but only 39% see results, because most are using it to boost efficiency instead of effectiveness.

-AI should help you understand a buyer and speak to their outcome, but a human still has to check the data and put the message in their own voice.

-Strategy is rarely what stalls growth. Behavior is, and only 10 to 20% of people who go through a sales methodology actually get it right.

-A methodology is more than a training program. It's account planning, great questions, and a real read on how buyers decide.

-Under pressure people revert to what's easiest, so the systems around a team have to make the new behavior the easiest path to take.

Connect with the Guest

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mjhvisdos/

Website: https://betrinc.com

Summary

What if the biggest drain on your company's growth never shows up on the P&L? In this episode of Growth Wizards, host Tanner Green sits down with Brandon Taylor, managing partner at The Northwood Group, fractional CRO, and operator recruiter who has interviewed roughly 2,800 sales professionals and hired around 280. Brandon breaks down the 18 month tenure problem plaguing CROs and VPs of sales, a churn cycle that quietly costs companies $2.5 million or more per bad hire, and explains why 60% of the failure happens before the leader is ever hired. He shares the operator's playbook: start with a North Star, assess the full go to market motion before defining the role, hire like the outcome is your own number, and know when the right answer is a fractional leader instead of a full time hire. This conversation is for CEOs, investors, and revenue leaders who are tired of repeating the same expensive hiring cycle.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and Brandon's background

02:05 The 76% AI adoption stat and what it gets wrong

04:30 The 18 month tenure problem where everyone loses

06:45 Three CFOs and the hiring mistake that never hits the P&L

08:00 Assess the go to market motion before you hire

11:15 Hiring like an operator vs. hiring like a recruiter

15:30 Bench building and the 45 day placement

19:30 Start with the north star and reverse engineer the hire

23:00 Where AI takes go to market in the next 12 months

24:15 Where to connect with Brandon

Takeaways

• The average CRO or VP of sales lasts just 18 months, and each failed hire quietly costs around $2.5 million that never shows up on the P&L as a hiring mistake.
• 60% of the tenure problem happens before the hire: most CEOs cannot define exactly what they need in a sales leader beyond a revenue mandate.
• Recruiters are compensated on placements, so the churn cycle feeds their model; operators hire like the outcome is their own number, because it is.
• Every hiring decision should reverse engineer from a clear North Star, and a company with no three to five year target is a red flag.
• Sometimes the right answer is not a CRO at all: a fractional leader for three to six months can define what the company actually needs before it hires.

  
  

Connect with the Guest

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandontaylortx/

Website: https://thenorthwoodgrp.com/

Summary

On this episode of Growth Wizards, host Tanner Green sits down with Mike Wolber, Chief Sales Officer at Apartment List, where he leads a roughly 95-person go-to-market organization spanning sales, customer success, rev ops, enablement, and strategy. A self-described go-to-market junkie who built revenue engines across Nike, G5, Entrata, and Rent Dynamics, Mike unpacks why the newest AI is worthless if your CRM house isn't in order, why the best revenue leaders manage leading indicators instead of leading from a dashboard, and how Apartment List standardized AI across the business before the team could go hog wild. It's a tactical, no-fluff conversation for founders, sales leaders, and RevOps pros who want to build a revenue engine that actually holds.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and guest introduction

01:56 What Salesforce gets right and where it falters

03:30 Garbage in, garbage out: getting your CRM house in order

05:14 Going deep and building revenue engines

08:00 The leading indicators every revenue leader should know

08:53 Why dashboard leaders are done

12:09 Inside Apartment List's AI architects group

13:56 Three cultures that scale revenue

18:45 Tactical relevance and the calendar test

20:43 The return of the handshake in go-to-market

Takeaways

• If your CRM house isn't in order, you can't use the new AI. Salesforce gives you scale, but its hands-off model means garbage in, garbage out, so treat your CRM as a center of excellence with a single owner and real data governance.
• Stop leading from the dashboard. The best revenue leaders know their leading indicators cold: dials-to-pipeline by source, LTV to CAC by segment, and where NRR is strong versus where they're bleeding cash.
• Standardize AI before your team goes hog wild. Apartment List built a cross-functional AIX team and a go-to-market AI architects group, rolling out standards monthly so 100 people don't create 100 workflows.
• Use AI to enrich selling, not as a crutch. Buyers can tell when they're getting AI'd and are craving a handshake, so the human touch is becoming a competitive advantage.
• Scale on three cultures: a culture of selling, a culture of obsession, and closing the back door, because churn and weak net revenue retention kill growth-stage companies.

  
  

Connect with the Guest

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikewolber/
Website: https://www.apartmentlist.com
Newsletter: Modern Go-To-Market (Substack)

Summary

In this episode of Beyond the Paycheck, host Tanner Green sits down with Joe Del Regno, a growth and marketing executive who has doubled revenue for consumer brands across CPG, food, and DTC and now serves as chief marketing officer at Stratosphere Management Executive Consultants. Joe shares the principled approach behind his biggest wins: start with core purpose and people, find the one foundational growth insight that unlocks everything, and build marketing that reaches the emotional high ground in an authentic, fact based way. Along the way he tells the stories behind Welch's sad banana fruit bites, the Family Dinner Night movement at Home Market Foods, and the Feel Better, Fight Harder cancer campaign at Intrinsic Bioscience, and explains where he sees AI helping and where it still cannot compete. This one is for growth leaders, marketers, and founders who want purpose driven work that also drives results.

Chapters

0:00 Introduction

1:05 Meet Joe Del Regno

2:25 HubSpot's Revenue Hub rebrand

4:30 A principled approach: core purpose and people

5:15 The sad banana insight at Welch's

6:25 Partnering with Starbucks to save family farms

9:15 Intrinsic Bioscience and hiring for mission

10:45 Feel better, fight harder and the boxer story

13:15 Home Market Foods and Family Dinner Night

16:45 AI and the future of mission driven marketing

Takeaways

-Mission and purpose driven companies achieve roughly three times the success of those that are not, but only when the mission is authentic.

-Every major growth win starts with one foundational insight you unlock, like Welch's sad banana or families eating dinner together fewer than 2.4 times a week.

-Hiring people who are personally connected to the mission can matter more than domain experience; Joe's team made Enteraid standard of care at 700+ cancer centers with no pharma background.

-The strongest marketing ladders up to the emotional high ground in a way that is authentic and fact based, not manufactured.

-AI is a powerful augmenter across content, efficiency, and building tools, but it cannot replace passion for a mission.

Connect with the Guest

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joedelregno/

Website: https://joedelregno.com

Summary
In this episode of Growth Wizards, Tanner Green interviews Vaughn Mordecai, a revenue and go-to-market executive, about the evolving landscape of AI in business, strategies for international expansion, and innovations at Mindmatrix. Vaughn shares insights on how AI is consolidating into a few dominant platforms, the importance of aligning with ideal customer profiles, and the development of a partner operating system to enhance user experience in partnerships.

Takeaways
AI is evolving rapidly, consolidating into a few key platforms.
Successful international expansion requires a shift from services to product-led strategies.
Aligning with ideal customer profiles (ICP) is crucial for maximizing revenue.
Creating a partner operating system enhances user experience and efficiency.
Utilizing marketing development funds can ease budget constraints for clients.
Partnerships should focus on providing value to both partners and account managers.
Non-friction experiences in partnerships lead to higher usage and satisfaction.
AI tools must be integrated thoughtfully to avoid data leaks.
Understanding the partner ecosystem is essential for effective go-to-market strategies.
Continuous learning and adaptation are key in the fast-paced tech industry.
Partnership Strategies for Revenue Growth

Summary
In this episode of Growth Wizards, Tanner Green interviews Nick Turner, CEO of Dream Data, a B2B activation and attribution platform. They discuss Nick's journey from CRO to CEO, the implications of OpenAI's shift to an advertising model, and the strategies for scaling marketing technology companies. Nick shares insights on the importance of product-led growth, the challenges of AI in marketing, and the future of marketing in an AI-driven world.

Takeaways
Nick Turner is the CEO of Dream Data, focusing on B2B marketing attribution.
OpenAI's transition to an advertising business raises questions about future models.
Nick emphasizes the importance of scaling over product market fit.
The 'land and expand' strategy is crucial for growth in marketing tech.
Dream Data integrates multiple systems for effective customer tracking.
Trials are essential to ensure customer readiness and value realization.
AI is disrupting both software companies and marketers alike.
Taste in marketing cannot be replicated by AI; it remains a human trait.
Knowing what to build is more challenging than ever in the software space.
Nick is open to connecting with B2B marketers for discussions.

Summary
How Integrating Sales, Marketing, and Client Service Transforms Revenue Growth – Insights with Jorge Vargas

In this episode, Jorge Vargas, a seasoned revenue leader, shares how unifying sales, marketing, and client service teams into cohesive revenue engines can significantly boost business performance. His experience at RW3 Culture Wizard illustrates the power of breaking down silos to accelerate growth and improve operational efficiency.In this episode:

 
Takeaways

• The importance of aligning sales, marketing, and client service for a unified go-to-market strategy
• Practical steps for merging siloed teams, including changing reporting structures and fostering collaboration 
• The impact of these integrations on revenue targets, sales cycle duration, and client satisfaction
• How to leverage team strengths and understand individual roles to drive success
• Future trends in GTM strategies, emphasizing flattening hierarchies and breaking down communication barriers
• Jorge’s perspective on AI’s role in sales, emphasizing the importance of human uniqueness and cultural context

Timestamps:
 00:00 - Introduction to Jorge Vargas and his revenue leadership background
 00:21 - The significance of unifying sales, marketing, and client service teams
 01:25 - Jorge’s experience at RW3 Culture Wizard and merging siloed teams
 02:18 - Challenges of building revenue functions in a disconnected environment
 02:53 - The new ad formats and AI developments shaping sales and marketing
 04:07 - Jorge’s background in journalism and how it influences his approach to sales and AI
 05:05 - Addressing fears of AI replacing sales roles and emphasizing human qualities
 06:28 - AI’s biases and limitations grounded in human-created data
 07:09 - The transactional nature of AI-driven sales and future potential for complex deals
 08:02 - The importance of understanding AI’s biases and cultural limitations
 09:22 - The process of merging sales and client service: before and after strategies
 10:05 - Transforming a siloed culture into a collaborative revenue team
 11:05 - Overcoming relational barriers rooted in company history and relationships
 12:27 - Practical steps Jorge took to realign teams and change reporting structures
 13:34 - The role of understanding team comfort levels and individual strengths in change management
 15:15 - Coordinating between product, sales, and client service to meet client expectations
 16:07 - The significance of understanding team members’ skills and self-awareness
 17:02 - The impact of team alignment: revenue targets exceeded, sales cycle shortened
 20:04 - Achieving results: sales cycle cut from 12 to 3-6 months
 21:26 - The value of integrating client service into sales processes for sustainable growth
 22:02 - Jorge’s upcoming year goals at Fast Forward Group and strategic focus
 23:24 - Trends in the future of GTM: flattening hierarchies and leveraging technology
 24:55 - Identifying companies leading in AI and sales innovation
 25:43 - Connecting with Jorge via LinkedIn: insights on leadership and sales managementMerging Sales and Client Service Transformed Revenue Growth

Summary
In this episode of Growth Wizards, Tanner Green interviews Kent Mora, a seasoned marketing executive with over 25 years of experience. They discuss the evolving landscape of marketing, particularly the impact of AI on B2B buying processes, the significance of messaging in marketing strategies, and the importance of a holistic approach to advertising. Kent shares insights from his experience scaling a successful marketing campaign for Sheeks and emphasizes the need to return to fundamental marketing principles as AI continues to shape the industry.

Takeaways
Over 94% of B2B buyers now use AI in purchasing.
AI is changing how consumers search for solutions.
SEO is evolving into GEO to accommodate AI.
Messaging is crucial for success in marketing.
Television advertising can significantly boost sales.
A holistic view of marketing strategies is essential.
AI lacks the human experience needed for discernment.
Fundamental marketing principles are still relevant today.
Marketers must adapt to the changing landscape of AI.
Direct-to-consumer marketing requires a strong understanding of numbers.

Summary

Most revenue organizations are running playbooks that were built for a world that no longer exists. In this episode of the Growth Wizards Podcast, host Geoffrey Lugli sits down with Justin Shriber, CEO and co-founder of Terret, for a sharp conversation about what AI actually changes in GTM—and what it doesn't.

Justin's career spans McKinsey, Siebel Systems (the first CRM), Oracle, and LinkedIn, where he led revenue teams at scale. Now he's building what he calls a fleet of revenue agents at Terret, an AI revenue engine that turns insights into action.

Justin makes two bold claims early: the traditional CRO is a dinosaur, and MEDDIC is dead. Not because rigor doesn't matter, but because the market moves too fast for static frameworks. The companies winning today aren't the most disciplined—they're the most agile. They pick up signals faster, interpret them faster, and push changes to the front line faster.

Justin and Jeff get into what the future CRO looks like as an orchestrator rather than an executor, why most AI deployments fail because companies give LLMs half the data and wonder why they hallucinate, how dynamic playbooks are replacing the week-long conference room training that sales reps forgot by Friday, and why consumption-based pricing transfers risk onto customers in a way that smart vendors are starting to walk back. If you lead a revenue team or are thinking about where AI fits in your GTM motion, Justin's perspective cuts through the hype.

Timestamps

• [00:23] – From door-to-door window washing to Siebel, Oracle, and LinkedIn
• [01:26] – What AI actually changes for sellers—and why mediocre reps should find a new profession
• [02:42] – Why the traditional CRO is a dinosaur and what replaces them
• [04:21] – The future CRO as orchestrator: blending technology, human expertise, and process
• [06:02] – Why MEDDIC is dead and how AI builds custom playbooks from your best reps
• [08:06] – Dynamic playbooks: from a year-old static document to real-time intelligence
• [09:33] – AI as coach in your earpiece: prep sheets, post-call evaluations, manager summaries
• [11:13] – The biggest GTM AI mistake: giving LLMs half the data and expecting full answers
• [12:31] – Governance, token consumption, and why Terret built a revenue graph instead
• [14:39] – Fixed price vs. consumption vs. outcome-based pricing: who should carry the risk
• [16:19] – The easy button for AI: pre-built agents on a governed revenue graph, live in two days

Takeaways

• The CROs who survive won't be the most disciplined—they'll be the most agile, pushing signal-driven changes to the front line faster than anyone else
• MEDDIC was invented 30 years ago by one company with an inferior product—AI now lets every company build a playbook tuned to their own best reps
• Dynamic playbooks update in real time as competitors launch and objections shift—a year-old static document is already obsolete before reps finish training on it
• LLMs hallucinate because companies give them incomplete data—full context is the prerequisite for accurate AI reasoning
• Consumption-based pricing transfers risk onto customers—the competitive move is fixed pricing with the vendor carrying the efficiency risk
• Don't grope around with AI alone—pick one discrete project and find a competent partner to accelerate outcomes

Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinshriber/

Company website: https://www.terret.ai